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Are there any aesthetically beautiful subwoofers? (with photos)

I dunno. I like the black cube or something very close. Our cat likes the living room one.
 
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Mr. Widget said:
We are a diverse group when it comes to our views on aesthetic beauty!

I consider the vast majority of these designs as unfit for domestic use.
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If I had a silly amount of money, I would take a JBL Paragon and put in two 15” subwoofers, or the JBL Bel Aire with a 8” high excursion woofer. Those would provide you with hidden in plain sight performance
 
Kal Rubinson said:
I really like the looks of my KEF KC92s.........
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Yeah I honestly don't think you can do better than a simple box with a really nice finish. KEF gets bonus points for the driver looking neat, as well as the curved edges.

I also like Revel's B10 in white:

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anotherhobby said:
This is a good point and definitely one of the big benefits of DIY. You can build cool looking subs that don't have mass market appeal. I built four 8" subs for my office (two of each of the subs below), and while I won't throw them in the ring for "beautiful" I do think they are quite cool looking and very different from commercial offerings.

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I would be delighted to say I built something that looks like this. And I’m sure my wife would be quite proud and pleased.
 
EERecordist said:
B&W does have a KEF like sub, the Bowers & Wilkins Dual PV1DB

g749PV1DMB-F.jpg
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LOL. I think they’re nice looking. My wife’s reaction to seeing a pair in the front of our formal living room, replacing a set of Leon thin subs (see below) in the front corners: “WTF are those awful round things.” Oops! At least the KEFs would’ve gotten even lower marks, which would fall to zero when the thin cones got dented.

Less nice: a weirdo 3.5mm TRS to USB-A cable needed to use their (rudimentary but useful) setup program. That’s a really easy thing to lose.

Mr. Widget said:
The Leon Aaros A10-UT is actually quite nice looking. These photos don't do it justice. Because it is only about 5" deep it is quite elegant looking and works surprisingly well too. A dual opposed version (wouldn’t even take up much more space, because the bolt-on plinth is wider than needed) would be truly superb. The SB woofer can’t quite go magnet to magnet (vented pole piece) but the whole should be less than 2x the width of the current cabinet, or maybe 2” wider than the current plinth.

View attachment 436072View attachment 436073
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That SB Acoustics shallow woofer is really nice. Cabinets nicely made as well. Their rebadged Dayton SA1000 amp is highway robbery though. Fortunately it’s not needed.

I think with modernized finish (gloss cherry is dated - these predate Dubya’s global economic crisis) the Monster Cable offshoot M-Design subs would look nice:

tmraudio.com

M-Design Eleganza Bella 1200 Powered Subwoofer

Buy, sell, and trade thousands of pre-owned audio gear. All tested, certified, and backed by our 100% Happiness Guarantee, with expert HiFi guides to help you at every step.
tmraudio.com tmraudio.com

These subs are still better performers than most current subs too, due to the superb Aurasound NS12-794-4A drive unit.
 
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Even though it is not modern attractive style of aesthetic design, I still love the looks and sound of my L&R large-heavy YAMAHA YST-SW1000 (580W x 440H x 440D mm, 48.0 kg, 16 Hz - 160 Hz, ref. here and the attached PDF) ! :D

Please refer to my post #931 on my project thread for details of the latest system setup including L&R YAMAHA YST-SW1000.
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My posts under the below spoiler cover would be also of your reference and interest.
- Reproduction and listening/hearing/feeling sensations to 16 Hz (organ) sound with my DSP-based multichannel multi-SP-driver multi-amplifier fully active stereo audio system having big-heavy active L&R sub-woofers: #782
- A nice smooth-jazz album for bass (low Fq) and higher Fq tonality check and tuning: #63(remote thread)
 

Attachments

  • AudioHeritage_YAMAHA YST-SW1000_YST-SW1000L_Eng_by_Google Chrome.pdf
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Kef has also designed attractive backsides of the kc92 they look neat even there . That’s missed by otherwise good looking subs , the generic ugly plate amp .
 
Talisman said:
Close everything, we have a winner
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Agreed. Will using a physical set of 'Encyclopedia Britannica' impart more of a British sound ?
 
The Ripoles from @Jazzman53 are absolutely gorgeous. I built a pair that were rough and unfinished just to try the concept, but the work and attention to detail that Charlie put in was... amazing.
 
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